Hybrid Materials &amp; Methods

ABSTRACT

A hybrid material may be configured as a hybrid fabric. An illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric may be constructed of two yarns engaged with one another and exhibit a moisture absorbency of ten seconds or less and a differential in moisture spreading speed one a first face of the hybrid fabric compared to that of a second face. Another illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric may be constructed of two yarns engaged with one another and exhibit a moisture absorbency of ten seconds or less and a planar wicking rate of at least 2.5 mm/min. Another illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric may be constructed of two welded yarns produced via welding processes differently configured such that the resulting welded yarns have one or more differing properties. Illustrative embodiments of such hybrid fabrics include but are not limited to pique and jersey and pique fabrics constructed of cotton.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present non-provisional utility patent application claims priority from provisional Pat. App. No. 63/072,931 filed on Aug. 31,2020, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure related to hybrid materials, methods for producing hybrid materials, and products that may be made from those hybrid materials.

BACKGROUND

Improving yarn and fabric performance by blending different fibers and yarns into a hybrid structure has been the topic of many patents and patent applications. One approach is making blended yarns using fiber level blending (specifically blending synthetic fibers into yarns) or applying chemical finishes on one component or part of the fabric.

A Taiwanese patent, TW201623712A, discloses the blending of different fiber types into yarn and making a hybrid structure using those yarn combinations. That invention uses synthetic fibers with different fiber cross-sections. It is reported that blending fibers with different diameters will help improve the drying behavior of the fabric. The fabrics made using this method are reported to dry faster. In another patent McMurray B. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,683B2) worked on the two-sided warp knitted fabric, which has different yarns on different sides of the fabric. This effect has been achieved by using different guide bars and feeding different yarns to different guide bars specifically by combining the synthetic yarns with different surface properties in a fabric construction with different layers.

In a patent by Kasdan et al (U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,493B1) a double-knit irregular pique is designed to make a fabric with superior wicking properties. In this fabric microfiber of synthetic yarn is used for enhancing moisture performance. In the published patent application US20200216948A1 a multi-layer garment for clothing and footwear textile is disclosed in which different layers of the fabric may be produced from natural fibers with different finishes. The structure is reported to have final properties including improved moisture management, moisture wicking, and antimicrobial function. The patents and published patent applications listed above fail to disclose a hybrid fabric that does not contain synthetic fibers and/or chemical finishes. As chemical finishing used for inducing superior wicking performance tends to wash off after several laundry cycles, which in turn causes the fabric performance to deteriorate, such solutions have various disadvantages. Generally, using different finishes on the yarn and/or fabric has many disadvantages including but not limited to being a short-term solution as the finishes can easily be washed after limited wash cycles, whereas synthetic materials also have various disadvantages, including but not limited to microplastic shedding and fossil fuel-dependency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the methods and systems.

FIG. 1 is a graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance of welded and conventional cotton yarns.

FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance of various jersey fabrics along the wale direction made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance of various jersey fabrics along the course direction made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of the absorbency of various fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 5A provides a schematic representation of an illustrative embodiment of a hybrid material configured as a hybrid fabric, wherein a fabric pattern and layers of different yarn types (welded and conventional) are visible for this illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric.

FIG. 5B provides a schematic representation of an illustrative embodiment of a hybrid material configured as a hybrid fabric, wherein a fabric pattern and layers of different yarn types are visible for this illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric.

FIG. 6 is a graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance in the course direction of various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 7 is a graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance in the wale direction of various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 8 is another graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance at ten minutes in the wale direction of various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIGS. 9A & 9B are schematic representations of moisture transfer across a fabric and moisture spreading on both sides of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional cotton yarn with the technical face down and technical face up, respectively.

FIGS. 10A & 10B are schematic representations of moisture transfer across a fabric and moisture spreading on both sides of the fabric constructed entirely of welded cotton yarn with the technical face down and technical face up, respectively.

FIGS. 11A & 11B are schematic representations of moisture transfer across the illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric and moisture spreading on both sides of the hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5A (Combination A) with the technical face down and technical face up, respectively.

FIGS. 12A & 12B are schematic representations of moisture transfer across the illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric and moisture spreading on both sides of the hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5B (Combination B) with the technical face down and technical face up, respectively.

FIG. 13 is a graphical representation of the one-way moisture transfer performance for various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 14 is a graphical representation of the moisture spreading speed difference on the technical face compared to the technical back for various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 15 is a graphical representation of the drying rate for various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 16 is a graphical representation of the pilling ranking on the technical back for various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 17 is a graphical representation of the breathability for various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

FIG. 18 is a graphical representation of the absorbency for various double pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present methods and apparatuses are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the methods and apparatuses are not limited to specific methods, specific components, or to particular implementations. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments/aspects only and is not intended to be limiting.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.

“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.

“Aspect” when referring to a method, apparatus, and/or component thereof does not mean that limitation, functionality, component etc. referred to as an aspect is required, but rather that it is one part of a particular illustrative disclosure and not limiting to the scope of the method, apparatus, and/or component thereof unless so indicated in the following claims.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word “comprise” and variations of the word, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” means “including but not limited to,” and is not intended to exclude, for example, other components, integers or steps. “Exemplary” means “an example of” and is not intended to convey an indication of a preferred or ideal embodiment. “Such as” is not used in a restrictive sense, but for explanatory purposes.

Disclosed are components that can be used to perform the disclosed methods and apparatuses.

These and other components are disclosed herein, and it is understood that when combinations, subsets, interactions, groups, etc. of these components are disclosed that while specific reference of each various individual and collective combinations and permutation of these may not be explicitly disclosed, each is specifically contemplated and described herein, for all methods and apparatuses. This applies to all aspects of this application including, but not limited to, steps in disclosed methods. Thus, if there are a variety of additional steps that can be performed it is understood that each of these additional steps can be performed with any specific embodiment or combination of embodiments of the disclosed methods.

The present methods and apparatuses may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred aspects and the examples included therein and to the Figures and their previous and following description. Corresponding terms may be used interchangeably when referring to generalities of configuration and/or corresponding components, aspects, features, functionality, methods and/or materials of construction, etc. those terms.

It is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The present disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that phraseology and terminology used herein with reference to device or element orientation (such as, for example, terms like “front,” “back,” “up,” “down,” “top,” “bottom,” and the like) are only used to simplify description, and do not alone indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. In addition, terms such as “first,” “second,” and “third” are used herein and in the appended claims for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance.

1. Definitions

Throughout this disclosure, various terms may be used to describe certain components of process, apparatuses, and/or other components that may be used in conjunction with the present disclosure. For clarity, definitions of some of those terms are provided immediately below. However, when used to describe such components, these terms and the definitions thereof are not meant to be limiting in scope unless so indicated in the following claims, but instead are meant to be illustrative of one or more aspects of the present disclosure. Additionally, the inclusion of any term and/or definition thereof is not meant to require a manifestation of that component in any specific process or apparatus disclosed herein unless so indicated in the following claims.

A. Welded Substrate “Welded substrate” and/or “welded yarn” may be used to refer to a finished composite comprised of at least one natural substrate in which one or more individual fibers and/or particles have been fused or welded together via a process solvent acting upon biopolymers from either those fibers and/or particles and/or action upon another natural material within the substrate.

B. Welding “Welding” as used herein may refer to joining and/or fusion of materials by intimate intermolecular association of polymer.

C. Biopolymer “Biopolymer” as used herein refers to naturally occurring polymer (produced by life processes) as opposed to all polymers that may be synthetically derived from naturally occurring materials.

1. Summary

Generally, as disclosed herein various illustrative embodiments of a hybrid material may be configured as hybrid fabric structure and may be made of regular cotton yarn blended with a welded yarn or differently welded yarns blended together. It is contemplated that such a hybrid fabric in certain embodiments thereof may be configured as a “plated structure” as that term is generally used in the textile industry without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. The yarn used in a hybrid material may be welded using any of the methods and/or structures disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,982,381 and/or U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2019/0106814 or any other suitable method and/or structure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. The hybrid fabric structure may be a hybrid fabric made with different ratios of welded yarn. The structure may be designed in a way that improves the hybrid fabric moisture management performance (among other improvements to the hybrid fabric, such as reduced dinginess, reducing pilling, increased breathability, etc. without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims) by inducing a synergistic effect of yarn blends.

The hybrid fabric structure may be a knit fabric in which the yarns can be engineered to be mostly present in one side of the hybrid fabric or be in the form of a sandwich inside the structure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. The resulting structure may have a significantly higher moisture transfer rate toward the outer surface of the hybrid fabric as compared to non-hybrid fabrics (those constructed of yarns that do not have differential properties, e.g., those constructed of 100% conventional yarn or 100% welded yarns that are welded but have relatively uniform morphologies and welding characteristics among the various welded yarns), and this property can be configured such that the resulting hybrid fabric has a moisture spreading speed higher on one side compared to that of the other side. Generally, the blended hybrid structure may have moisture performance higher than that of a fabric made of conventional cotton yarn or a fabric made of 100% uniformly welded yarn in terms of absorbency, vertical wicking, moisture spreading speed, and/or one-way moisture transfer. The hybrid fabrics have been found to wick more than four times faster than the regular cotton fabric. However, the specific moisture transfer characteristics of a given embodiment of a hybrid material are not limiting unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

In one illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric constructed according to the present disclosure, the hybrid fabric exhibits improved moisture performance. In the prior art, fabrics with industrially acceptable moisture performance are produced using synthetic fibers or natural fiber with chemical finish. A hybrid fabric according to the present disclosure may be constructed of 100% cotton with no chemical finishes, coatings, waxes, etc. while simultaneously exhibiting exceptional moisture properties that are nearly equal to, equal to, or greater than the corresponding properties found in fabrics of the prior art. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to exceptional moisture properties but extends to any property and/or characteristic of the hybrid fabric (e.g., hand, dinginess, resistance to pilling, etc.) without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Generally, the exceptional moisture properties of the hybrid fabric may be imparted thereto from the synergistic effect of combining two different types of yarns, which in this illustrative embodiment may consist of a conventional yarn and a welded yarn, into a single hybrid fabric. However, other illustrative embodiments of a hybrid fabric may be comprised of two welded yarns, wherein one or more characteristics of a first welded yarn are different that the corresponding characteristic(s) of a second welded yarn. Accordingly, the scope of the hybrid fabric disclosed herein is not limited to embodiments of hybrid fabrics containing welded and conventional yarns blended together or differently welded yarns blended together unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Furthermore, any of the yarns used in a hybrid fabric configured according to the present disclosure (e.g., conventional yarns, welded yarns, etc.) may be produced from recycled fibers, virgin fibers, and/or combinations thereof without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

An illustrative embodiment of such a hybrid fabric is a knit structure that may be a blend of welded cotton yarn and conventional cotton yarn that shows improvement in the moisture wicking and absorbency as well as the one-way moisture transfer and moisture spreading speed on different sides of the hybrid fabric. The hybrid fabric may be configured such that the moisture transfer directionality is tunable to specify the location, rate, and/or direction at which the moisture transfer through the hybrid fabric occurs without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Other factors of the moisture transfer properties (e.g., absorption rate, spreading rate, drying rate, etc.) and/or other characteristics of the hybrid fabric (e.g., reduced dinginess, desired hand, hairiness, elasticity, pilling, etc.) also may be tunable to optimize those values for a specific application without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

A hybrid fabric made of pure cotton without use of any chemical modification (e.g., coating, finishing, etc.) may be configured to have moisture performance (among other characteristics without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims) that is superior to fabric constructed of conventional cotton.

An illustrative embodiment of a hybrid fabric construction may be engineered in a manner that the welded cotton yarn with conventional cotton blends in the structure of the hybrid fabric. The blended structure may show synergistic increases in various moisture management properties, moisture wicking, air permeability, drying rate, reduction of dinginess, and/or pilling without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Hybrid fabrics made by blending welded and conventional cotton yarns exhibit higher vertical wicking compared to that of fabrics made with 100% welded yarn or 100% conventional cotton yarn. An illustrative embodiment of the hybrid fabric may be designed to have the welded yarn mostly on one side thereof as opposed to having the welded yarn mostly in the middle of the structure. Two illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics having the welded yarn primarily on different sides of the hybrid fabrics, respectively, were shown to have opposite one-way moisture transfer and spreading speeds on both sides of the hybrid fabric, and it is contemplated that this tunability may expand the number of applications for hybrid fabrics. Various embodiments of a hybrid fabric may have vertical wicking significantly higher than that of a fabric made from all welded yarn among additional advantageous characteristics without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. This shows there may be a synergistic behavior of blending a conventional cotton yarn and a welded yarn, and/or blending two differently welded yarns together unless otherwise indicated in the following claims, in the hybrid fabric structure.

2. Illustrative Embodiments & Detailed Description

A graphical representation of the measured vertical wicking performance of a welded cotton yarn bundle and a conventional cotton yarn bundle at the yarn level is shown in FIG. 1, wherein the wicking distance in millimeters is shown versus time. Comparing the plots in FIG. 1 shows that welded yarn has significantly higher vertical wicking than the regular control cotton yarn. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 1 is shown below in Table 1. As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 1, the average wicking rate for the welded yarn bundle over the entire 30-minute test was 3.9 mm/min and for the conventional yarn bundle was 0.8 mm/min, whereas the rate at ten minutes for the welded yarn bundle was 3.5 mm/min and the rate for the conventional yarn bundle was 1 mm/min. Accordingly, the welded yarn bundle wicks at an average rate of approximately 4.7 times faster than that of the conventional yarn bundle and a 10-minute rate of approximately 3.2 times faster than that of the conventional yarn bundle. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a welded yarn bundle and a conventional yarn bundle are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another illustrative embodiment of a welded yarn bundle the welded yarn bundle may wick at an average rate of approximately 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 4, 5, or 6 times that of a corresponding conventional yarn bundle and/or may have a 10-minute rate of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, or 3.5 times that of a corresponding conventional yarn bundle without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 1 Yarn wicking Welded Control Time (min) Distance Wicked (mm) Distance Wicked (mm)  2 22 1  5 26 3 10 35 11 15 39 16 20 42 17 25 46 22 30 48 29 Average Rate (mm/min) 3.9 0.8 Rate at 10 min (mm/min) 3.5 1.1

Such desirable moisture management properties of welded cotton yarns and compared to conventional cotton yarns (and consequently fabrics comprised of welded yarns compared to those comprised of conventional yarns) have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,982,381 and/or U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2019/0106814 as previously cited above.

Blending the welded yarn with conventional yarn in various illustrative embodiments of a hybrid fabric structure was found to result in a hybrid fabric with synergistic improvement in the performance of the hybrid fabric compared to fabrics constructed of 100% conventional yarn or 100% welded yarn. Generally, the improvement was most evident in the moisture management of the hybrid fabric, but the scope of the present disclosure is not so limited in unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Different illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics with a blend of the welded yarn and conventional yarn were made and the hybrid fabric performance in contact with moisture showed improvement in the properties compared to non-hybrid fabrics. The blending may result in better moisture transfer as the difference in different yarn's hairiness and/or morphology may result in faster wicking in the non-hairy areas without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Other illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics may be constructed by blending a first welded yarn having a specific set of characteristics with a second welded yarn having a second specific set of characteristics, wherein at least one characteristic for the first welded yarn is different than the corresponding characteristic for the second welded yarn by a certain amount. Generally, it is contemplated that a difference in hairiness and/or stiffness between the two welded yarns may provide the characteristic differential between the two welded yarns used to create an embodiment of the hybrid fabric that exhibits the desired properties (e.g., reduced dinginess, increased wicking rate, increased breathability, moisture directionality, moisture spreading speed, etc.) without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. This differential in characteristics may impart to the hybrid fabric a number of desirable qualities, such as superior moisture management, reduced pilling, reduced dinginess, increased breathability, etc. without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Generally, the conventional cotton yarn and fabric constructed therefrom that was used to collect the experimental data disclosed herein was not finished and configured as a Greige yarn and/or Greige fabric. Additionally, the conventional yarn that was processed to create a welded cotton yarn used in the fabrics made entirely from welded yarn and the illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics disclosed herein was not finished and configured as a Greige yarn, as was the conventional yarn blended with welded yarn to create the illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics disclosed herein. All test and/or empirical data reported herein was obtained after a minimum of three wash cycles of the fabric, wherein the laundering procedure was performed according to AATCC LP1. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Further, unless otherwise indicated, it is implied that the welded yarn used to create a fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn and that used to create a hybrid fabric has been subject to generally the same welding process such that all the welded yarn is relatively uniform for a given fabric or hybrid fabric. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not so limited and the yarn used to create welded yarns for hybrid fabrics and/or the conventional yarns blended with welded yarns to create hybrid fabrics may be differently configured (e.g., bleached, scoured, otherwise finished, combinations thereof, etc.) without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

A graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance (in millimeters) in the wale direction of four different jersey fabrics made from different ratios of welded yarn to conventional yarn is shown in FIG. 2 at various points in time. The vertical wicking performance as disclosed herein may be generally referred to as planar wicking performance without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 2 is shown below in Table 2, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 197 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As shown, 25% and 50% welded yarn in the hybrid fabric structure have resulted in significantly higher vertical wicking of the hybrid fabrics compared to both that of a fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn and a fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn at nearly all time points in the graph. For example, the vertical wicking at 10 minutes shows that the jersey hybrid fabric made of 25% and 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn has more than four times higher wicking than those made of all welded yarn or all conventional yarn. As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 2, the average wicking rate over the entire 30-minute test and the rate at 10 minutes for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn test were both 0.94 mm/min, for the hybrid fabric constructed of 25% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn 4.3 and 4.6 mm/min, for the hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn 4.0 and 4.6 mm/min, and for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn 1.9 and 1.9 mm/min, respectively.

Accordingly, in the wale direction the hybrid fabric constructed of 25% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in this direction at an average rate of approximately 4.6 times faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 4.8 times faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. The hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in this direction at an average rate of approximately 4.3 times faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 4.9 times faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. The hybrid fabric constructed of 25% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in this direction at an average rate of approximately 2.3 times faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 2.4 times faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. The hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in this direction at an average rate of approximately 2.2 times faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 2.4 times faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a jersey hybrid fabric the hybrid fabric may wick in the wale direction at an average rate and/or 10-minute rate that is 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, or 2.5 times that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 2 Vertical Wicking Jersey Wale, Based on AATCC 197 Test Method 100% 25% Time Conventional Welded 50% Welded 100% Welded  2.00 1 13 13 5  5.00 5 28 26 13 10.00 9 46 46 19 15.00 13 58 54 28 20.00 20 69 62 32 25.00 25 76 68 34 30.00 32 82 74 37 Average Rate 0.9 4.3 4.2 1.9 (mm/min) Rate @ 10 min 0.9 4.6 4.6 1.9 (mm/min)

A graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance of jersey fabrics made from different ratios of welded yarn to conventional yarn in the course direction is shown in FIG. 3, wherein vertical wicking in mm is again plotted against time. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 3 is shown below in Table 3, wherein the test was performed utilizing the

AATCC 197 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As is clear from the plots, 50% blended hybrid fabric (i.e., half welded yarn and half conventional yarn) wicks more liquid as compared to both the fabric made with 100% conventional cotton or 100% welded cotton. In comparison, jersey hybrid fabric made with 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn (which in this illustrative embodiment is cotton yarn) exhibits more than two times higher vertical wicking than that of the fabric made from conventional cotton yarn at 10 minutes.

As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 3, the average wicking rate over the entire 30-minute test and the rate at 10 minutes for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn test were both nearly 1 mm/min, for the hybrid fabric constructed of 25% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn 1.4 and 1.6 mm/min, for the hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn 2.3 and 2.7 mm/min, and for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn 1.1 and 1.3 mm/min, respectively.

Accordingly, in the course direction the hybrid fabric constructed of 25% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks at an average rate of approximately 34% faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 47% faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. The hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in this direction at an average rate of approximately 118% faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 154% faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. The hybrid fabric constructed of 25% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in this direction at an average rate of approximately 22% faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 17% faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. The hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in this direction at an average rate of approximately 99% faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 103% faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a jersey hybrid fabric the hybrid fabric may wick in the course direction at an average rate and/or 10-minute rate that is 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185, 190, 195, or 200% faster than that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 3 Vertical Wicking Jersey Course, Based on AATCC 197 Test Method 100% 100% Time Conventional 25% Welded 50% Welded Welded  2.00 2 2 5 3  5.00 4 5 13 6 10.00 1 15 27 10 15.00 21 27 33 18 20.00 27 31 41 22 25.00 37 37 46 26 30.00 44 40 51 30 Average Rate 1 1.4 2.3 1.1 (mm/min) Rate @ 10 min 1 1.6 2.7 1.3 (mm/min)

A graphical representation of the absorbency of various jersey fabrics made from different ratios of welded yarn to conventional yarn is shown in FIG. 4. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 4 is shown below in Table 4, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 79 Test. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As is evident therein, even a hybrid fabric constructed of only 17% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn results in approximately a 68% decrease of the absorbency time. A hybrid fabric constructed of 25% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn exhibits an even greater decrease measured at approximately an 81% decrease, whereas a hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn exhibits still greater decrease measured at approximately 93%. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a hybrid fabric the hybrid fabric may have an absorbency that represents a 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, or 95% decrease in absorbency time compared to that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Additionally, the hybrid fabric may exhibit an absorbency time of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 second in other illustrative embodiments. This shows the synergistic effect for at least moisture management properties of blending welded yarn and regular cotton together in a hybrid fabric.

TABLE 4 Absorbency, Based on AATCC 79 Jersey Absorbency Time (s) 100% Conventional Cotton 31  17% Welded Cotton 10  25% Welded Cotton 6  50% Welded Cotton 2 100% Welded Cotton 2.

Referring now generally to FIGS. 5A & 5B, therein is shown a schematic representation of a double pique single knit fabric, which may be configured as a hybrid material (e.g., a hybrid fabric in this illustrative embodiment) having a portion of the yarns therein comprised of a welded yarn and a second portion of the yarns therein comprised of a conventional yarn (which may be raw or unwelded without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims). In these two illustrative embodiments, 50% of the yarn is welded yarn and 50% is conventional cotton yarn. However, the optimal ratio of welded yarn to conventional yarn may vary at least depending on the intended application for the hybrid fabric, and that ratio is therefor in no way limiting to the scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Additionally, the type of natural material used for either the welded yarn or conventional yarn (e.g., cotton, wool, silk, hemp, etc.) may vary from one embodiment of a hybrid material as disclosed herein without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

A nearly infinite number of embodiments of a hybrid material configured as a hybrid fabric exist based on changing a vast number of variables, which variables include but are not limited to: (1) configuration of the conventional yarn (e.g., chemical composition, physical attributes, ratio used in the hybrid fabric, etc.); (2) configuration of the welded yarn (e.g., chemical composition, physical attributes, ratio used in the hybrid fabric, degree and location of the welding, etc.; (3) fabric construction method (e.g., different types of knitting, weaving, plating, matting, etc.); (4) relative positions of the yarns, welded and unwelded with respect to one another, other components of the hybrid fabric, which surface constitutes the interior or exterior during intended use, etc.

Still referring generally to FIGS. 5A & 5B, two illustrative embodiments of a hybrid fabric are shown therein, wherein the two illustrative embodiments provide two constructions of a hybrid fabric with the welded yarn being positioned primarily in the middle of the hybrid fabric in FIG. 5A and positioned primarily toward the bottom of the hybrid fabric in FIG. 5B (from the vantage shown on left side of FIG. 5B). The schematic representation of the yarns in a double pique fabric structure configured as a hybrid fabric as shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B, wherein the welded yarns and conventional yarns are shown in different shading. As noted above, these two embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and a large number of additional embodiments exist that are included within the scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

The two different illustrative combinations of welded and conventional yarn shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B for illustrative embodiments of a hybrid fabric provide two different illustrative combinations of welded and conventional yarns, which in these illustrative embodiments may be comprised of cotton. However, the optimal chemical composition of the materials used to construct a hybrid material and/or hybrid fabric may vary from one application to the next and is therefore in no way limiting to the scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. The two illustrative hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B provide examples of two differing pique fabrics with a first illustrative embodiment of construction shown in FIG. 5A configured such that the welded yarn may be positioned primarily toward the interior of the hybrid fabric as compared to a second illustrative embodiment of construction shown in FIG. 5B showing a pique construction of a hybrid fabric wherein the welded yarn may be positioned primarily on the technical back of the hybrid fabric from the vantage shown on the left side of FIG. 5B. However, the optimal construction of a hybrid fabric (single pique, jersey, knit, woven, loose, etc.) may vary from one application to the next and is therefor in no way limiting to the scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

A graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance in the course direction of various pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded yarn to conventional yarn is shown in FIG. 6. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 6 is shown below in Table 5, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 197 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Again, these data and corresponding graph shows the synergistic effect of blending welded yarns and conventional yarns in the hybrid fabric structure. As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 5, the average wicking rate over the entire 30-minute test and the rate at 10 minutes for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn test were respectively 2.2 and 2.3 mm/min, for the hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn 11.6 and 8.4 mm/min, and for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn 9.1 and 6.1 mm/min, respectively.

Accordingly, the pique hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in the course direction at an average rate of approximately 5.2 times faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 3.7 times faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. The pique hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks at an average rate of approximately 28% faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 37.7% faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the hybrid fabric may wick in the course direction at an average rate and/or 10-minute rate that is i0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, or 5.5 times that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Again, to compare, at 10 minutes, the illustrative embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and 50% conventional yarn was found to wick almost four times faster than the fabric made entirely from conventional cotton in the course direction and also significantly faster than the fabric made entirely from welded yarn.

TABLE 5 Vertical Wicking Pique Course, Based on AATCC 197 Test Method 100% Conventional 50% Welded 100% Welded Time (min) Cotton-Greige Cotton Cotton  2 3. 48 40  5 13 67 51 10 22 84 61 15 34 99 70 20 45 108 79 Average Rate 2.2 11.6 9.1 (mm/min) Rate @ 10 min 2.3 8.4 6.1 (mm/min)

A graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance in the wale direction of various pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded yarn to conventional yarn is shown in FIG. 7. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 7 is shown below in Table 6, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 197 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As with FIG. 6 (which shows wicking performance in the course direction), comparison of the plots in FIG. 7 clearly shows the synergistic effect of blending welded yarn with conventional yarn to create a hybrid fabric. As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 6, the average wicking rate over the entire 30-minute test and the rate at 10 minutes for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn test were both 2.7 mm/min, for the hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn 9.6 and 6.8 mm/min, and for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn 7.8 and 5.6 mm/min, respectively.

Accordingly, the pique hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks in the wale direction at an average rate of approximately 3.8 times faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 2.5 times faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. The pique hybrid fabric constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn wicks at an average rate of approximately 23% faster and a 10-minute rate of approximately 21% faster than the corresponding rates of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Generally, comparing the wicking at 10 minutes shows that the hybrid fabric made using 50% welded yarn and 50% conventional yarn wicks more than two times faster than the fabric made entirely from the conventional cotton and also significantly faster than the fabric made entirely from welded yarn. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the hybrid fabric may wick in the wale direction at an average rate and/or 10-minute rate that is 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, or 4 times that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 6 Vertical Wicking Pique Wale, Based on AATCC 197 Test Method 100% Conventional 50% Welded 100% Welded Time (min) Cotton-Greige Cotton Cotton  2 4 41 35  5 13 55 45 10 27 68 56 15 40 90 62 20 51 97 67 Average Rate 2.5 9.6 7.8 (mm/min) Rate @ 10 min 2.7 6.8 5.6 (mm/min)

Another graphical representation of the vertical wicking performance in the course direction of various pique fabrics made from different ratios of welded yarn to conventional yarn is shown in FIG. 8 after ten minutes, wherein the specific hybrid fabric construction shown in

FIGS. 5A & 5B was tested. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 8 is shown below in Table 7, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 197 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 7, the wicking distance in the course direction at 10 minutes for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was 19.3 mm, for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn was 77.3 mm, for the first illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric (Combination A, shown in FIG. 5A) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was 92 mm, and for the second illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique of a hybrid fabric (Combination B, shown in FIG. 5B) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was 91.3 mm.

Accordingly, both the hybrid fabrics of Combination A and Combination B wicked a distance of approximately 4.7 times greater than that of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn in this direction. Those hybrid fabrics also wicked a distance of approximately 19% and 18% further than that of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Again, this shows the synergistic effect of blending welded yarns and conventional yarns in the hybrid fabric structure. The illustrative embodiments of construction of a pique hybrid fabric shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B (Combination A and B, respectively) were found to wick significantly faster than the fabric made entirely from conventional cotton yarn in the course direction and also significantly faster than the fabric made entirely from welded yarn. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the hybrid fabric may wick a distance at 10 minutes in the course direction that is 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, or 5 times that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 7 Vertical Wicking in Course Direction, Based on AATCC 197 Test Method Wicking Vertical Wicking Pique Distance @ 10 min (mm) 100% Conventional Cotton-Greige 19 100% Welded Cotton 77 Combination A 92 Combination B 91

A schematic depiction of moisture transfer across two different fabrics and two different hybrid fabrics is shown in FIGS. 9A-12B, wherein the fabrics and hybrid fabrics are shown with a wet surface/moisture source positioned above the respective fabrics and hybrid fabrics. In FIGS. 9A-12B, the oval above the fabric or hybrid fabric represents a moisture source/moisture adjacent that particular face of the fabric or hybrid fabric. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 9A, 10A, 11A, & 12A, the technical back of the fabric or hybrid fabric is positioned adjacent the moisture source (which may be a wearer's skin for certain illustrative applications of a hybrid fabric without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims) and the technical face thereof is positioned opposite the moisture source. In FIGS. 9B, 10B, 11B, & 12B, the technical face of the fabric or hybrid fabric is positioned adjacent the moisture source (which again may be a wearer's skin for certain illustrative applications of a hybrid fabric without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims) and the technical back is positioned opposite the moisture source. The trapezoid shape within the fabric or hybrid fabric represents the moisture transfer characteristics, wherein the length of either parallel side represents the relative spreading speed on that side/face of the fabric or hybrid fabric such that the difference in length of the parallel sides thereof represents the relative difference in spreading speed between the two sides/faces thereof (a longer side having a higher relative spreading speed than a shorter side). Accordingly, the longer the parallel side of the trapezoid, the greater the moisture spreading speed and vice versa. The greater the difference in length between the parallel sides of the trapezoid, the greater the relative difference in moisture spreading speed between the two faces of the fabric or hybrid fabric.

As depicted schematically in FIGS. 9A-12B, these four different fabrics will perform differently when in contact with water and/or a moisture source. The test was conducted on both sides of the fabrics and hybrid fabrics, and one would expect to see opposite results if a fabric or hybrid fabric exhibits directionality regarding moisture transfer—otherwise the fabric and/or hybrid fabric is merely porous, and the force of gravity is primarily or exclusively the cause of transferring the moisture through the fabric or hybrid fabric. The hybrid fabrics in FIGS. 11A-12B exhibit preferential one-way moisture transfer from one side to other (i.e., technical-face-to-technical-back direction and vice versa) and higher moisture spreading speed at one side of the hybrid fabric than the other as described in further detail below.

A fabric constructed entirely of conventional cotton yarn is shown in FIGS. 9A & 9B with the technical face down and with the technical face up, respectively. The small size of the trapezoid and the small difference between the lengths of the parallel sides therein as shown in FIGS. 9A & 9B indicate that and there is virtually no directionality in moisture transfer and a generally small moisture spreading speed for both sides of the fabric (e.g., technical face and technical back).

A fabric constructed completely of welded cotton is shown in FIGS. 10A & 10B with the same orientation as described above for FIGS. 9A & 9B, wherein FIGS. 10A & 10B depict the moisture transfer across a fabric constructed of 100% welded yarn with the technical face down (e.g., adjacent the moisture source) and with the technical face up (e.g., opposite the moisture source). It is evident that there is a small directionality for moisture transfer toward the technical face of the fabric. However, this directionality (and the delta of the spreading speed between both sides/faces) of moisture transfer are not tunable. The larger size of the trapezoid here compared to that in FIGS. 9A & 9B indicates that the fabric constructed entirely of welded cotton exhibits higher moisture spreading speeds on both sides of the fabric (e.g., technical face and technical back) compared to that of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. However, as with the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn, the small difference in the lengths of the parallel sides of the trapezoid as shown in FIGS. 10A & 10B indicate that there is virtually no directionality in moisture transfer from one side of the fabric to the other (e.g., technical-face-to-technical-back direction and vice versa).

The first illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric is shown in FIGS. 11A & 11B (Combination A from FIG. 5A) and the second illustrative embodiment thereof (Combination B from FIG. 5B) is shown in FIGS. 12A & 12B, wherein the orientation is the same as that previously described for FIGS. 9A & 9B.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 11A & 11B, which depict the moisture transfer across the hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5A (50% welded yarn and 50% conventional yarn) with the technical face down and with the technical face up, respectively, it is evident that there is a large directionality for moisture transfer toward the technical face of the hybrid fabric (i.e., the parallel side of the trapezoid on the technical face is longer than that on the technical back, and there is a relatively large difference in the lengths of the parallel sides of the trapezoid compared to those shown in FIGS. 9A-10B). Additionally, this directionality (and the delta of the spreading speed between both sides/faces) of moisture transfer are tunable unlike those properties as observed in the fabric constructed entirely from welded yarn and/or those in the fabric constructed entirely from conventional yarn.

Similarly, with reference to FIGS. 12A & 12B, which depict the moisture transfer across the hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5B (50% welded yarn and 50% conventional yarn) with the technical face down and with the technical face up, respectively, it is evident that there is a large directionality for moisture transfer toward the technical back of the hybrid fabric (i.e., the parallel side of the trapezoid on the technical back is longer than that on the technical face, and there is a relatively large difference in the lengths of the parallel sides of the trapezoid compared to those shown in FIGS. 9A-10B). Additionally, this directionality (and the delta of the spreading speed between both sides/faces) of moisture transfer are tunable unlike those properties as observed in the fabric constructed entirely from welded yarn and/or those of the fabric constructed entirely from conventional yarn. The results observed in both hybrid fabrics may be attributable to the superior moisture management performance/properties of the hybrid fabric as well as the ability to tune certain characteristics to optimize the performance of the hybrid fabric for a specific application in contrast to both fabrics constructed entirely of conventional yarn and those constructed entirely of welded yarn.

A graphical representation of the one-way moisture transfer rate of the hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B (Combination A and Combination B, respectively) is shown and compared with that of the fabric made entirely of welded yarn and that of the fabric made entirely of conventional yarn in FIG. 13 (measured with both the technical face down and the technical face up). The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 13 is shown below in Table 8, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 195 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 8, the one-way moisture transfer with the technical face down for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was 136.10%, for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn was 22.2%, for the first illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric (Combination A, shown in FIG. 5A) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was 160.50%, and for the second illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric (Combination B, shown in FIG. 5B) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was −44.02%. The measured one-way moisture transfer with the technical face up for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn, the first illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5A, the second illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5B, and the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn were 68.95%, −32.24%, −85.90%, and 110.18%, respectively.

Accordingly, the hybrid fabrics of Combination A and Combination B exhibited a difference of one-way moisture transfer with the technical face down compared to that with the technical face up of 246.4 and 154.2, respectively. Conversely, the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn exhibits a difference of only 67.15 and the pique fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn exhibits a difference of only 54.54. That is, the hybrid fabric of Combination A exhibited a one-way moisture transfer rate differential when tested on the technical face compared to when tested on the technical back that was approximately 3.6 times higher than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and approximately 4.5 times higher than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn.

The hybrid fabric of Combination B exhibited a one-way moisture transfer rate differential when tested on the technical face compared to when tested on the technical back that was approximately 2.3 times higher than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and approximately 2.8 times higher than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Whereas the differential in one-way moisture transfer of the technical face compared to the technical back for the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was only approximately 49%, that of both Combination A and Combination B for the pique hybrid fabrics was much greater than 50%, with one value for each being negative and the reverse value being positive. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the differential in one-way moisture transfer of the technical face compared to that of the technical back may be 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100% without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Additionally, this differential may be 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, or 3.5 times higher than that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Contrasting the one-way moisture transfer of the fabrics constructed entirely of conventional cotton, entirely of welded cotton, and the two different hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B show an increased one-way transport index and directionality for the hybrid fabrics compared to that of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Performing this test on both the technical face and technical back of both pique fabrics and both pique hybrid fabrics normalizes the effect of gravity, such that the differential must be attributable to the construction of the hybrid fabric and/or morphology of the yarn and/or differential in morphologies of two yarns as opposed to the orientation thereof during the test.

TABLE 8 One-Way Moisture Transfer, Based on AATCC 195 Technical Face Technical Face Fabric Down (%) Up (%) 100% Conventional Cotton-Greige 136.10 68.95 100% welded Cotton 22.21 −32.24 Combination A 160.50 −85.90 Combination B −44.02 110.18

A graphical representation of the moisture spreading speed delta of the hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B (Combination A and Combination B, respectively) is shown and compared with that of the fabric made entirely of welded yarn and that of the fabric made entirely of conventional yarn in FIG. 14 (measured with both the technical face down and the technical face up). The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 14 is shown below in Table 9, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 195 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 9, the delta spreading speed with the technical face down for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was −0.242 mm/s, for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn was -0.415 mm/s, for the first illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric (Combination A, shown in FIG. 5A) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was 1.422 mm/s, and for the second illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric (Combination B, shown in FIG. 5B) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was −0.836 mm/s. The measured delta spreading speed with the technical face up for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn, the first illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5A, the second illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5B, and the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn were −0.273, 0.1586, −0.7611, and 0.9573 mm/s, respectively.

Accordingly, both the pique hybrid fabrics of Combination A and Combination B exhibited a much higher delta in the spreading speed with the technical face down compared to with the technical face up compared to that of both the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and the pique fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Combination A and Combination B exhibited a delta in spreading speed between top and bottom surfaces with the technical face down compared to that with the technical face up of 2.183 and 1.793, respectively. Conversely, the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn exhibits a difference of only 0.031 and the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn exhibits a difference of only 0.573. That is, the hybrid fabric of Combination A exhibited a delta in the spreading speed when tested on the technical face compared to when tested on the technical back that was approximately 70 times greater than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and approximately 3.8 times higher than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn.

The hybrid fabric of Combination B exhibited a delta in spreading speed when tested on the technical face compared to when tested on the technical back that was approximately 57 times higher than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and approximately 3.1 times higher than that differential for the pique fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Whereas the delta in spreading speed of the top and bottom surface of the hybrid fabric when tested on the technical face compared to the technical back for the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was only approximately 11%, that of both Combination A and Combination B for the pique hybrid fabrics was much greater than 15%, with one value for each being negative and the reverse value being positive. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the delta between the spreading speed of the technical face compared to that of the technical back may be 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185, 190, 195, 200% or even higher without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Additionally, this differential may be 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, or 3.5 times higher than that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Contrasting the moisture spreading speed deltas of the pique fabrics constructed entirely of conventional cotton, entirely of welded cotton, and the two different hybrid fabrics shows an increased spreading speed delta for the hybrid fabrics compared to those of both the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and that of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Performing this test on both the technical face and technical back of both pique fabrics and both pique hybrid fabrics normalizes the effect of gravity, such that the differential must be attributable to the construction of the hybrid fabric and/or morphology of the yarn and/or differential in morphologies of two yarns as opposed to the orientation thereof during the test.

TABLE 9 Delta Spreading Speed, Based on AATCC 195 Delta Technical Face Delta Technical Face Fabric Down (mm/s) Up (mm/s) 100% Conventional Cotton- −0.242 −0.273 Greige 100% Welded Cotton −0.415 0.1586 Combination A 1.422 −0.7611 Combination B −0.836 0.9573

As is evident in FIG. 14, the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn exhibits a constant delta, which is an indication of the fabric being porous and not providing directionality in transfer of moisture. While the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn exhibits two opposite deltas, which is an indication of the directionality in the transfer of moisture through the structure of the hybrid fabric. It is important to notice that this delta is small and is not tunable for a fabric constructed one type of yarn (e.g., a fabric made 100% of one type of welded yarn, wherein the welding process results in relatively uniform characteristics along the length of the welded yarn or fabric made 100% of conventional yarn). Blending two different yarns with different hairiness and surface properties has resulted in two hybrid fabrics with higher deltas and opposite directionalities for transfer of water. The moisture management may be tested by placing a given amount of water on one surface of the hybrid fabric and measuring the time and the amount of water that spreads on each side of the hybrid fabric as well as the amount of moisture transferred through the thickness of the hybrid fabric.

As shown in the FIG. 14, the two different combinations of welded yarn and conventional yarn in the illustrative embodiments of construction of a pique hybrid fabric pictured in FIGS. 5A & 5B, a pique hybrid fabric may be constructed to have two different sides (sometimes referred to herein as a “technical face” and a “technical back”). Accordingly, it has been observed that the illustrative embodiment of construction referred to as “Combination B” will preferentially transfer water from technical face to technical back (technical face up positive), and thus may be especially suitable for an application wherein the technical back may be positioned as the outside of the hybrid fabric. Conversely, it has been observed that the illustrative embodiment of construction referred to as “Combination A” will preferentially transfer water from technical back to technical face (technical face down positive), and thus may be especially suitable for an application wherein the technical face may be positioned as the outside of the hybrid fabric.

A graphical representation of the dry rate of the hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B (Combination A and Combination B, respectively) is shown and compared with that of the fabric made entirely of welded yarn and that of the fabric made entirely of conventional yarn in FIG. 15 (measured with both the technical face down and the technical face up). The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 15 is shown below in Table 10, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 201 Test Method. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 10, the dry rate for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was 0.65 mL/hr, for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn was 0.73 mL/hr, for both the hybrid fabrics (Combination A and Combination B, shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B, respectively) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was 0.77 mL/hr.

Accordingly, both the hybrid fabrics of Combination A and Combination B dried at a rate of approximately 18% faster than that of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. Those hybrid fabrics also dried at a rate of approximately 5% faster than that of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Contrasting the drying rate of the two hybrid fabrics (Combination A and Combination B) with those of the fabric constructed of 100% conventional yarn and the fabric constructed of 100% welded yarn indicates that the hybrid fabrics exhibit an increased the drying rate compared to the other fabrics. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the dry rate may be 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100% higher than that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and/or may be 0.60, 0.65, 0.70, 0.75, or 0.80 mL/hr unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 10 Dry Rate, Based on AATCC 201 Fabric Dry Rate (mL/hr) 100% Conventional Cotton-Greige 0.65 100% Welded Cotton 0.73 Combination A 0.77 Combination B 0.77

A graphical representation of the pilling of the hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B (Combination A and Combination B, respectively) is shown and compared with that of the fabric made entirely of welded yarn and that of the fabric made entirely of conventional yarn in FIG. 16 (measured on the technical back). The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 16 is shown below in Table 11, wherein the test was performed utilizing the ISO 12945-2 procedure. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As presented in FIG. 16, a higher value on the “Ranking” axis indicates a higher resistance to pilling. As is evident from FIG. 16, both hybrid fabrics exhibit better resistance to pilling on the technical back compared to that of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. Additionally, it is evident that Combination A exhibits a higher pilling performance than Combination B, which may be attributed to a difference in the position of a majority of the welded yarn in Combination A and Combination B. Combination A has a larger amount of conventional yarn on the technical back of the hybrid fabric, and exhibits a lower pilling ranking than Combination B, which has a higher amount of welded yarn on the technical back. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the pilling rank may be 4.5 or 5 unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

For this experiment, the technical back of the various fabrics and hybrid fabrics were tested, as it is contemplated that the technical back may be configured as the exterior of a garment constructed of the fabric or hybrid fabric for many applications. However, other orientations of the technical back and/or technical face may be used for different applications and the orientation thereof for any hybrid fabric is in no way limiting unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Additionally, other desirable characteristics exhibited by welded yarns previously known or later discovered may be imparted to hybrid fabrics comprised of a welded yarn alone or in combination without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 11 Pilling, Based on ISO 12945-2 Fabric Pilling Rank 100% Conventional Cotton-Greige 3 100% Welded Cotton 4.5 Combination A 3.5 Combination B 4

A graphical representation of the breathability of the hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B

(Combination A and Combination B, respectively) is shown and compared with that of the fabric made entirely of welded yarn and that of the fabric made entirely of conventional yarn in FIG. 17. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 17 is shown below in Table 12, wherein the test was performed utilizing the ASTM D737 protocol. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As presented in FIG. 17, the air permeability is shown in cubic feet per minute. As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 12, the air permeability for the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was 199 cfm, for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn was 538 cfm, for both the hybrid fabrics (Combination A and Combination B, shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B, respectively) constructed of 50% welded yarn and the remainder conventional yarn was 273 and 301 cfm, respectively.

Accordingly, the illustrative embodiments of construction of pique hybrid fabrics of

Combination A and Combination B have an air permeability approximately 37% and 51% greater, respectively, than that of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. As is evident from FIG. 17, the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn exhibits the highest breathability (i.e., measured air permeability) and the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn exhibits the lowest breathability. The hybrid fabrics are in between those two values, with Combination B slightly higher than Combination A. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the air permeability may be anywhere between 210 cfm to 500 cfm and/or have an air permeability that is 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100% higher than that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

It is contemplated that the lower breathability of the hybrid fabrics with respect to the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn and higher breathability with respect to the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn results in the superior moisture management characteristics of the hybrid fabrics. Again, other desirable characteristics exhibited by welded yarns previously known or later discovered may be imparted to hybrid fabrics comprised of a welded yarn alone or in combination without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

TABLE 12 Air Permeability, Based on ASTM D737 Fabric Air permeability (cfm) 100% Conventional Cotton-Greige 199 100% Welded Cotton 538 Combination A 273 Combination B 301

A graphical representation of the absorbency of the two hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B (Combination A and Combination B, respectively) is shown and compared with that of a corresponding pique fabric made entirely of welded yarn and that of a corresponding pique fabric made entirely of conventional yarn in FIG. 18. The data collected to create the graph in FIG. 18 is shown below in Table 13, wherein the test was performed utilizing the AATCC 79 Test on the technical face of both pique hybrid fabrics shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B and those constructed entirely of conventional yarn and welded yarn. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

As calculated from the observed data recorded in Table 13, the absorbency for the pique fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn was 61.5 seconds, for the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn was approximately one second, for the hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5A (Combination A) 2.4 seconds, and for the hybrid fabric shown in FIG. 5B (Combination B) 3.5 seconds.

Accordingly, the illustrative embodiments of construction of pique hybrid fabrics of Combination A and Combination B have an absorbency approximately 25 times and 17 times faster, respectively, than that of the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn. As is evident from FIG. 18, the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn exhibits the highest absorbency. However, other values of a differential in this metric between a hybrid fabric and another fabric are included within the scope of the present disclosure without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. For example, in another illustrative embodiment of a pique hybrid fabric the absorbency may be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, or 24 times that of a corresponding fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. Additionally, the hybrid fabric may exhibit an absorbency time of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 second in other illustrative embodiments.

TABLE 13 Absorbency on Technical Face, Based on AATCC 79 Pique Absorbency Time (s) 100% Conventional Cotton 61 100% Welded Cotton 1 Combination A 2 Combination B 3

Generally, as disclosed herein the various illustrative embodiments of hybrid materials may be configured as hybrid fabrics. Those hybrid fabrics may be constructed by blending welded yarn and a conventional yarn. Further, in the illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics disclosed herein, the welded yarn and/or conventional yarn may be comprised of a naturally occurring biopolymer (e.g., cellulose, lignin, silk proteins, etc.), and in one illustrative embodiment the conventional yarn and welded yarn may be comprised entirely of a biopolymer such that no or virtually no synthetic materials are present in the hybrid fabric. Although specific examples and experimental data may be attributable to hybrid fabrics constructed of a welded cotton yarn and a conventional cotton yarn, the scope of the present disclosure is not so limited and applies to any hybrid fabric exhibiting the desired characteristics unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

The illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics may exhibit a significant increase in the performance of the hybrid fabric compared to fabrics constructed with 100% conventional yarns or 100% welded yarns within a range of blending ratios. It is observed that in terms of vertical wicking and absorbency, even a hybrid fabric comprised of only 17% of welded yarn can significantly change the hybrid fabric performance compared to other fabrics. The comparison between the vertical wicking of yarn bundles (as shown in FIG. 1) of the welded cotton and conventional cotton shows that the welded yarn wicks water more than three times faster than the conventional cotton yarn. Also, comparison of the vertical wicking of the pique fabrics (FIGS. 6-8) showed that both hybrid fabrics exhibit increased vertical wicking as compared to both the fabric constructed entirely of conventional yarn and that of the fabric constructed entirely of welded yarn. Additionally, the fabric made from the 100% welded yarn exhibits higher absorbency and higher vertical wicking as compared to the fabric made from 100% conventional yarn.

Knit Fabrics

As discussed above, different single knit hybrid fabrics are disclosed herein, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to those specific hybrid fabrics and extends to other hybrid knit fabrics, woven hybrid fabrics, loose hybrid fabrics, and/or other fabric constructions and/or hybrid material constructions unless otherwise indicated in the following claims and extends. Jersey and pique fabrics were made using different ratios of the welded yarns and conventional yarns. Generally, fabrics considered high performing in regards to moisture management are characterized by fast absorption of the water, fast wicking and spreading of the moisture, and/or high transfer rate of the moisture from one side of the fabric to the other. Other attributes, such as lack of dinginess, breathability, desired hand, etc. may also be desirable for many applications without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

The pique hybrid fabrics may be designed in a variety of different combinations. As discussed above, the two illustrative embodiments of construction of pique hybrid fabrics disclosed herein were configured such that the placement of the yarns therein resulted in a first hybrid fabric wherein the welded yarn was primarily positioned on the back of the hybrid fabric and conventional yarn was primarily positioned on the front of the hybrid fabric. In a second illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric the welded yarn was primarily positioned in the middle layer of the hybrid fabric and the conventional yarn was primarily positioned on the back of the hybrid fabric. However, other placements, orientations, positions, etc. of the welded yarn and conventional yarn may be used for a given embodiment of a hybrid fabric and the scope of the present disclosure is not so limited unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

In the pique hybrid fabric, even feeder tuck stitches may be predominantly present on the back of the hybrid fabric. In one illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric, the welded yarn may be preferentially placed on the even feeder tuck stitches or on the second repeat of the pattern (as shown at least in FIG. 5B), and thus that yarn may be primarily positioned on the back of the hybrid fabric. Conversely, in another illustrative embodiment of construction of a pique hybrid fabric, the welded yarn may be preferentially placed on the tuck stiches on the odd feeders or first repeat of the pattern and thus it may be primarily positioned on the middle of the hybrid fabric (as shown at least in FIG. 5A). The welded yarn may be characterized by relatively low hairiness, relative higher stiffness, and/or relative low water absorption into the yarn structure. Thus, the hybrid fabric structure may wick the moisture through capillary movement of the water through inter-yarn spacing. The presence of different yarn through the width of the hybrid fabric may induce faster moisture transfer through the width of the hybrid fabric and faster water absorbency through the width of the hybrid fabric. The conventional yarns toward the middle of the hybrid fabric then may be able to help pull the water and transfer moisture away from the skin of the wearer of a garment from the technical face to the technical back of the pique hybrid fabric. The conventional yarn in the technical back may help transfer the water from the technical back to the technical face of the hybrid fabric.

By constructing the pique hybrid fabric in two different illustrative combinations (as shown in FIGS. 5A & 5B), it was found that there is a delta (variation) between the moisture spreading speed in the technical face and technical back of the hybrid fabric while testing, and this delta can be switched if the hybrid fabric is turned upside down and if the blend of welded yarn and conventional yarn is made in a different combination. This delta is a good indication of the one-way moisture transfer of the hybrid fabrics and evidences the fact that this directionality is tunable among different hybrid fabrics.

While the wicking in the hybrid fabric made using welded yarn may happen through the capillary movement of the liquid between the welded yarns in the hybrid fabric structure, the regular yarn may wick by the absorption and wicking through the conventional yarn, which may provide faster absorption of the water from the wearer's skin (of a garment made with a hybrid fabric) and avoid/mitigate the feeling of the fabric clinging to the wearer. Without being bound by theory, it is contemplated that the combination of the welded and conventional yarn in the both the jersey and pique hybrid fabrics results in synergistic increase in the vertical wicking of the hybrid fabrics by wicking in the capillary space created by the relatively stiffer welded yarns while the water is held in place by absorption within the yarn structure of the conventional yarns. This combination of fast wicking and moisture holding is a unique characteristic of hybrid fabrics. As a result of these synergistic mechanisms, the actual mass of water uptake over time is superior to either that of a fabric made from 100% welded yarn and that of a fabric made from 100% conventional yarn.

The welded yarn that is used to construct a hybrid fabric is not limited to a specific morphology, degree of welding, apparatus and/or method used to construct the welded yarn, etc. and may include any welded yarns and/or methods for making same already known, disclosed herein, or later developed without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Generally, the yarns produced via a welding process used for a hybrid material as disclosed herein may be configured such that the chemical composition of a welded yarn is substantially the same as that of the corresponding conventional (e.g., raw, unwelded, etc.) substrate and/or yarn. In many applications the chemical composition may be a biopolymer, and specifically may be cellulose, but other biopolymers may be used for other materials (e.g., wool, silk, etc.) without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Again, all tests were performed and empirical data gathered for all fabrics (i.e., all illustrative embodiments of hybrid fabrics and all fabrics constructed entirely of conventional yarn and all fabrics constructed entirely of welded yarn) after a minimum of three wash cycles of the fabric or hybrid fabric, wherein the laundering procedure was performed according to AATCC LP1. However, other test methods, protocols, and/or procedures may be used without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims. It is contemplated that the characteristics of the hybrid fabrics reported and measured herein will not significantly degrade even after a large number of laundry cycles at least because those characteristics may be a result of a fundamental change in the morphology of one of the yarns used in the hybrid fabric and NOT a result of finishing techniques, chemical treatments, etc. and/or any other method or apparatus that may degrade after a specific number of laundering cycles without limitation unless otherwise indicated in the following claims.

Although the hybrid materials described and disclosed herein may be configured to utilize a substrate comprised of a natural fiber, the scope of the present disclosure, any discrete process step and/or parameters therefor, and/or any apparatus for use therewith is not so limited so and extends to any beneficial and/or advantageous use thereof without limitation unless so indicated in the following claims.

Having described preferred aspects of the various processes and apparatuses, other features of the present disclosure will undoubtedly occur to those versed in the art, as will numerous modifications and alterations in the embodiments and/or aspects as illustrated herein, all of which may be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the methods and embodiments pictured and described herein are for illustrative purposes only, and the scope of the present disclosure extends to all processes, apparatuses, and/or structures for providing the various benefits and/or features of the present disclosure unless so indicated in the following claims.

While the welding process, dyeing and welding processes, process steps, components thereof, apparatuses therefor, and welded substrates according to the present disclosure have been described in connection with preferred aspects and specific examples, it is not intended that the scope be limited to the particular embodiments and/or aspects set forth, as the embodiments and/or aspects herein are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, the processes and embodiments pictured and described herein are no way limiting to the scope of the present disclosure unless so stated in the following claims.

Although several figures are drawn to accurate scale, any dimensions provided herein are for illustrative purposes only and in no way limit the scope of the present disclosure unless so indicated in the following claims. It should be noted that the processes, apparatuses and/or equipment therefor, and/or hybrid materials produced thereby are not limited to the specific embodiments pictured and described herein, but rather the scope of the inventive features according to the present disclosure is defined by the claims herein. Modifications and alterations from the described embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art without departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Any of the various features, components, functionalities, advantages, aspects, configurations, process steps, process parameters, etc. of a production process (e.g., knitting weaving, etc.) for a hybrid material, may be used alone or in combination with one another depending on the compatibility of the features, components, functionalities, advantages, aspects, configurations, process steps, process parameters, etc. Accordingly, a nearly infinite number of variations of the present disclosure exist. Modifications and/or substitutions of one feature, component, functionality, aspect, configuration, process step, process parameter, etc. for another in no way limit the scope of the present disclosure unless so indicated in the following claims.

It is understood that the present disclosure extends to all alternative combinations of one or more of the individual features mentioned, evident from the text and/or drawings, and/or inherently disclosed. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the present disclosure and/or components thereof. The embodiments described herein explain the best modes known for practicing the apparatuses, methods, and/or components disclosed herein and will enable others skilled in the art to utilize the same. The claims are to be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.

Unless otherwise expressly stated in the claims, it is in no way intended that any process or method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is not otherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended that an order be inferred, in any respect. This holds for any possible non-express basis for interpretation, including but not limited to:

matters of logic with respect to arrangement of steps or operational flow; plain meaning derived from grammatical organization or punctuation; the number or type of embodiments described in the specification.

To aid the Patent Office and any readers of any patent issued on this application in interpreting the claims appended hereto, applicants wish to note that they do not intend any of the appended claims or claim elements to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the words “means for” or “step for” are explicitly used in the particular claim. 

1. A hybrid fabric comprising: a. a first surface, wherein said first surface exhibits a pilling rank of at least 3.5, and wherein said first surface has a first moisture spreading speed; b. a second surface, wherein said second surface has a second moisture spreading speed, wherein a differential of said first moisture spreading speed and said second moisture spreading speed is at least 25%, and wherein said hybrid fabric is made of a biopolymer.
 2. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said biopolymer is further defined as cellulose.
 3. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as exhibiting an absorbency time of 10 seconds or less.
 4. The hybrid fabric according to claim 3 wherein said absorbency time is further defined as determined using an AATCC 79 test protocol.
 5. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said first moisture spreading speed and said second moisture spreading speed are further defined as determined using an AATCC 195 test protocol.
 6. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as constructed of cotton.
 7. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as having a planar wicking rate of at least 2.5 mm per minute.
 8. The hybrid fabric according to claim 7 wherein said planar wicking rate is further defined as determined using an AATCC 197 test protocol.
 9. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein a breathability of said hybrid fabric is at least 200 cfm.
 10. The hybrid fabric according to claim 9 wherein said breathability of said hybrid fabric is further defined as determined using an ASTM D737 test protocol.
 11. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said biopolymer is further defined as a naturally occurring biopolymer.
 12. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as having no chemical finishes applied thereto.
 13. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein a dry rate of said hybrid fabric is at least 0.7 mL/hr.
 14. The hybrid fabric according to claim 13 wherein said dry rate of said hybrid fabric is further defined as determined based on an AATCC 201 test protocol.
 15. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said pilling rank is further defined as determined using an ISO 12945-2 test protocol.
 16. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as substantially completely made from said biopolymer.
 17. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein a first one-way moisture transfer from said first surface to said second surface is at least 50% different than a second one-way moisture transfer from second surface to said first surface.
 18. The hybrid fabric according to claim 17 wherein said first one-way moisture transfer and said second one way-moisture are further defined as determined based on an AATCC 195 test protocol.
 19. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as a knit fabric.
 20. The hybrid fabric according to claim 19 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as a pique fabric.
 21. The hybrid fabric according to claim 20 wherein said first surface is further defined as a technical back of said hybrid fabric.
 22. The hybrid fabric according to claim 21 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as comprising a first yarn and a second yarn, wherein said first yarn is positioned primarily on said technical back of said hybrid fabric.
 23. The hybrid fabric according to claim 22 wherein said first yarn is further defined as welded.
 24. The hybrid fabric according to claim 23 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as used in a garment having an interior surface and an exterior surface, and wherein said technical back is positioned adjacent said exterior surface.
 25. The hybrid fabric according to claim 21 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as comprising a first yarn and a second yarn, wherein said first yarn is positioned primarily in a middle of said hybrid fabric.
 26. The hybrid fabric according to claim 22 wherein said first yarn is further defined as welded.
 27. The hybrid fabric according to claim 26 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as used in a garment having an interior surface and an exterior surface, and wherein said technical back is positioned adjacent said interior surface.
 28. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as comprising a first yarn and a second yarn, wherein a planar wicking rate of said first yarn is at least 100% greater than a planar wicking rate of said second yarn.
 29. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as comprising a first yarn and a second yarn, wherein a planar wicking rate of said first yarn is at least 150% greater than a planar wicking rate of said second yarn.
 30. The hybrid fabric according to claim 1 wherein said hybrid fabric is further defined as comprising a first yarn and a second yarn, wherein a planar wicking rate of said first yarn is at least 300% greater than a planar wicking rate of said second yarn. 